Ewald von Kleist

Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist (8 August 1881-13 November 1954) was a Field Marshal of Nazi Germany during World War II.

Biography
Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist was born on 8 August 1881 in Braunfels an der Lahn, Hesse-Nassau, Prussia, German Empire. He served in the hussars during World War I and led a cavalry division from 1932 to 1935, and he retired in the late 1930s. However, in August 1939 he was recalled by Nazi Germany and was given command of the XXII Panzer Corps during the Invasion of Poland. During the Battle of France in 1940, he led his own panzer group against France, and he led the 1st Panzergruppe during the April War with Yugoslavia in 1941 before taking part in the invasion of Greece as well as Operation Barbarossa with Army Group South. On 22 November 1942 he took command of Army Group A and was sent to capture the oil fields in the Caucasus during Case Blue, and in 1943 he was promoted to Field Marshal. In March 1944, he was relieved by Adolf Hitler for ordering the German 8th Army to retreat during Operation Bagration, and he was forced into retirement. In 1948, he was turned over by Yugoslavia to the Soviet Union and was sentenced to ten years in prison for war crimes, but he died in 1954.